Alabama comes out flat in sloppy loss to Missouri

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The crowd inside Coleman Coliseum Wednesday night did not quite match the intensity from over the weekend. Neither did Alabama’s play on the basketball court. Ultimately that led to a different result as well.

Alabama followed one of its best performances with a dud Wednesday night falling to Missouri 69-60. The loss comes after Alabama upset No. 12 Oklahoma 80-73 on Saturday.

Alabama rallied back from an early double-digit deficit in the first half as Collin Sexton’s buzzer-beating 3 cut the lead to 35-33 heading into the break. However, the Crimson Tide was unable to carry the momentum into the second half as it shot just 5 of 20 (25 percent) from beyond the arc and made 66 percent of its free throws on the night. The loss snaps a six-game winning streak inside of Coleman Coliseum and brings Alabama’s home record to 10-2 on the season.

The loss moves Alabama to 14-8, 5-4 in the SEC, while Missouri improves to 14-8, 4-5 with the win.

Here are some notes from Wednesday night’s game:

Tide's top performers

Sexton led Alabama with 23 points to go with four rebounds. His buzzer-beating 3 at the half was one of several key moments where he seemed to singlehandedly breathe life into an anemic Alabama offense. Sexton finished 7 of 16 from the floor, including 3 of 7 from beyond the arc.

Dazon Ingram was also in double digits with 10 points to go with four rebounds. Donta Hall finished with nine points and four rebounds.

It was over when

Down 65-58 with 4:25 remaining, Alabama missed seven straight shots from the floor ending any attempt of a comeback. The Crimson Tide shot just 22.4 percent in the second half, including 2 of 13 from beyond the arc.

What's next

Alabama will hit the road to take on Florida (15-7, 6-3) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN. The Gators enter the matchup losers of two of their past three games, including their last two SEC contests against South Carolina and Georgia. Nevertheless, Florida offers one of the conference’s best offenses ranking third with 79.8 points per game.

The Gators are led by a trio of talented guards in Jalen Hudson, Egor Koulchev and Chris Chiozza. Hudson is averaging 16.2 points and four rebounds per game, while Koulchev averages 14.5 and a team-high 7.5 rebounds. Chiozza is third on the team with 12.7 points per game and leads the SEC with an average of 6.1 assists.

Florida won its lone meeting against Alabama last season, beating the Crimson Tide 80-67 in Tuscaloosa.

Following the game against Florida, Alabama will remain on the road as it travels to Mississippi State on Feb. 6. The Crimson Tide defeated the Bulldogs 68-62 in Tuscaloosa earlier this year.